Trudeau easily survives vote of confidence in Canadian Parliament, new threat looms

OTTAWA – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau easily survived a vote of confidence on Sept 25 after his main political rival failed to muster enough support to end nine years of Liberal Party rule.

Legislators in the House of Commons voted 211 to 120 to defeat a motion by the official opposition Conservative party declaring a lack of confidence in Mr Trudeau’s minority Liberal government.

Mr Trudeau, whose popularity has slumped amid unhappiness over rising prices and a housing crisis, became more politically vulnerable in September when the smaller New Democratic Party (NDP) tore up a 2022 deal to keep him in power until an election scheduled for end-October 2025.

“Today was a good day for the country because I don’t think Canadians want an election,” said Ms Karina Gould, the senior Liberal in charge of government business in the House.

Despite surviving the vote, other challenges loom for Mr Trudeau. Earlier in the day, the leader of the separatist Bloc Quebecois said he would work to bring down the Canadian government unless it quickly agreed to the Bloc’s demands.

Mr Trudeau’s Liberals will soon face a second vote on one of its Budget measures, which is also a matter of confidence, but are expected to also survive that. Officials said the vote could take place on Sept 25 or Sept 26.

“We are going to work piece of legislation by piece of legislation, issue by issue, negotiating with the different political parties,” Ms Gould told reporters.

The right-of-centre Conservatives have a big lead in the opinion polls ahead of an election that must be called by the end of October 2025.

The Conservatives say they want an election as soon as possible on the grounds that Canadians cannot afford a planned increase in the federal carbon tax. They also say federal spending and crime have ballooned under the Liberals.

“Enough is enough. Costs are up, taxes are up, crime is up, and time is up,” the Conservatives said in a statement.

Mr Trudeau, while acknowledging public unhappiness, has accused the Conservatives of playing politics rather than focusing on what people need.

Bloc leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said he would keep Mr Trudeau in power at least until end-December if he gave more money to seniors, and vowed to protect a system of tariffs and quotas that protect dairy farmers, many of whom live in Quebec.

If the Canadian government did not formally do this by Oct 29, the Bloc would talk to opposition parties with a view to bringing down Mr Trudeau, he told reporters.

But to succeed, he would need the support of the NDP, which also backed Mr Trudeau on Sept 25. Polls indicate the party would also be in trouble if an election were called now. REUTERS